Thanks Everyone

Many thanks to those of you who supported my mayoral candidacy.

While I am disappointed not to move on, I am glad to have had the experience.

Candidate Forum

When: Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 6:00pm

Where: MSU-COT

The actual forum begins at 6:00pm and is scheduled to run until 8:00pm. At 5:30pm, there is a "meet and greet" reception.

Questions are to be asked by Gary Moseman of the Tribune. If there is enough time, questions will be taken from the audience, although they have to be presented to the moderator in writing beforehand.

7th And Last Question: Commission Raises

This is the last question asked of the candidates by the Tribune:

Should part-time city commissioners give themselves a raise? Commissioners receive $487 per month, and the mayor receives $643 per month, in pay and expenses, and both positions qualify for health insurance.

Given the economic conditions and that the city's 2009-2010 budget was not at all flush with excessive cash, the commissioners should not give themselves a raise.

6th Question: Why Did The Levies Fail?

Here is my answer to this question:

Why did the city police and fire special levies fail, and what should be done, if anything, to improve staffing in those departments?

I believe the levies failed due to the tough economic times, although I do think citizens are also getting sick and tired of fiscal irresponsibility on the part of the city. Funds continue to lose money and, with the support from the incumbents, the city's reserves continue to be spent to cover these shortfalls. I am not at all confident in the numbers presented by the city, and I am not positive that we needed a public safety levy in the first place.

5th Question: Speaking Limitation

Do you favor continuing to limit speakers to 5 minutes each during the commission's public comment period?

No, I do not favor limiting speakers to a 5-minute time limit. The mayor controls the meeting and, from the outset, can remind folks that in the interest of others, comments should be limited. If a speaker ignores that request, the mayor, as the chair of the meeting, can graciously tell them to conclude their remarks.

Not only do citizens have comments, but many times they also also have questions about various issues. Those questions and any answers they might receive currently go against their five minutes. This is not fair. Government belongs to the people, not the other way around.

4th Question: Pay Raises

Considering economic conditions, should the city continue to give pay increases of more than 3 percent annually to city employees?

I would not have voted for this increase. In these tough economic times and the less than rosy financial picture of the city, an increase of 3 percent should not have been authorized. If elected your mayor, I will vote against any raises for the 2010-2011 budget year.

3rd Question - Golf And Swim Funds

Here is my response to the following Tribune question:

What should the city do to improve the bottom line for its golf courses, which are to receive $245,000 in subsidies this year, and swimming pools, which are scheduled to receive a subsidy of more than $580,000 from the general fund?

I think both of these funds need to be examined very closely as to why they continue to lose money. It concerns me greatly when the director of the Fiscal Service Department reported that the golf fund would receive a $240,000 "gift" from the general fund. This was done in order to reduce the red ink this fund has been wallowing in for the past several years. Shifting monies around to make certain funds look better does not solve the problem. it adds to it.

There's a reason(s) why both of these funds continue to lose money, but before I can suggest solutions, I need to see exactly what is going on.

2nd Question: Recycling Fee

Here is my response to the second question posed by the Tribune:

City government may soon consider a $1.50 monthly charge on city households to support recycling, which has been a money-losing venture for the city. Would you favor such a fee, and why or why not?

At this time, I do not favor the city continuing its involvement in recycling. First and foremost, cities have a responsibility to provide core services in a fiscally prudent manner. Providing recycling services is not a core service of the city. It has been reported from the Public Works Department that even by adding this proposed fee, recycling will continue to lose money. It is not fiscally responsible to continue to provide a secondary service that doesn't break even.

This is a service that should be left to the private sector. Why this city has such a penchant to stick its nose into private business is beyond me.

What Do I Think About ECP

As I posted over at Cataract City, the Tribune has started to publish the Commission Candidates responses to several questions they asked. Today, they published the answers to the following question pertaining to ECP:

Do you think the city should shut down its utility arm, Electric City Power, or should the city try to make its venture more profitable? The city stood to lose an estimated $4.75 million if it suddenly liquidated its electrical energy business earlier this year.

My response:

I believe ECP should be shut down for a number of reasons. Citizens were never given the opportunity to vote as to whether they wanted their government to get involved in public power in the first place. The city has already lost more than $4 million on this venture, and according to ordinance #2925, this entity was to be self-sustaining from day one. Citizens continue to be barred from information pertaining to this entity and cannot get straightforward answers to their financial questions and concerns. This foray into public power has not been a benefit to the city or its citizens and has already cost us millions of dollars.

Contrary to what the incumbents say, this entity has already lost several million dollars and will not benefit city residents. (As a result of legislative action, ECP cannot sell power to the residents). The "blended rate" scenario mentioned by mayoral candidate Commissioner Bronson is the subject of a lawsuit (page 9). Information pertaining to the "blended rate" has also been kept from the public by this lawsuit. (Commissioner Jolley, who is the only commissioner to have actually viewed the documents in the secret box, has indicated that there are documents in the box pertaining to the "blended rate").

Want A Yard Sign?

If you would like a yard sign, please e-mail me at siguynn@yahoo.com.

Thanks very much!

Neighborhood Councils

We're getting down to the wire and as I reported at Cataract City, only 14 of the needed 45 candidates have filed for Neighborhood Council.

The deadline to file is August 20.

I have been a member of NC#4 for 3 years and I am in my second year as the chair of this council. It has been a very good experience for me. I have learned more about city/county government and how it works than if I had not gotten involved.

As the chair, I am responsible for setting the agenda and have made an effort to bring in speakers who educate the public about what our government or community is doing. I have received several compliments from citizens who tell me they enjoy coming to Council 4 meetings because they always learn something. That's always been my goal.

If elected your mayor, I will definitely ask for more input from our councils. According to the City Charter, councils are supposed to be involved in several aspects of our local government, including finance. Currently, councils are not invited to participate in the budgetary process. No meetings are ever scheduled with councils to discuss the budget. Oh sure. We can show up at the normally scheduled budget meetings, but how many council members and citizens can just drop what they are doing during the day to attend a budget meeting? More of an effort needs to be made to include the public, before the public hearing.

Please consider joining your council. For more information, contact Patty Cadwell at 455-8496 or pcadwell@greatfallsmt.net.

July 4th Parade With Pictures

Thanks to everyone who helped in any way with my OTAG float! As far as I know, I was the only mayoral candidate to have a campaign float.

According to the Tribune, about 20,000 folks turned out so it was very good exposure.

What Do You Think?

Since I regularly attend City Commission meetings and have been for the last three years, I have seen first hand what happens when folks disagree with what the city suggests.

They are ignored. Even if folks just question what is being proposed, they are more often than not treated like the enemy. There is no excuse for this.

I am not running because I think I have all the answers to our problems. Absolutely, I do not. In fact, nobody does, but I do believe that by working together, we can find the right solutions to what ails us. I don't have an agenda other than to open up our government and let the sun shine in!

As I mentioned here, I think the most important issue to face our city has been our relationship with SME. Maybe you agree, maybe not.

Now is your chance to tell me what you think.

Maybe only one issue I've listed below is of concern to you or maybe all of them. If you have several, try to list them in order of importance to you. It would be very helpful if you would also tell me why you feel the way you do.

Even if I mentioned something you are not familiar with, tell me that too.

Some of the issues:

* City not practicing OTAG (Open, Transparent, Accountable Government)

* City's involvement with SME

* City's decision to go with public power (ECP)

* City's proposed 2010 budget

* City/County relationship

* Water rights

* Public safety levy

* Animal shelter

* Malmstrom AFB

* Downtown revitalization/parking meters

* Economic development; industrial parks

* Parks, Recreation (golf, swimming pools)

* Other

(Please read this, if you wish to comment).

Relationship With SME

In my opinion, the greatest issue to divide our city in quite a long time has been the city's involvement with SME.

Regardless of where you stand on the coal plant/gasification plant and ECP, every citizen should be very concerned that we were never allowed a vote on issues that have cost our city millions of dollars. And it's not over.

I'm not in favor of public and private entities going into business together. The rules for each are different. Private businesses (like mine) do not have to divulge their business dealings to the public, but government does. And it is not supposed to be an option as our city has so very well demonstrated.

(Please read this, if you wish to comment).

My Candidacy For Mayor

I read the following statement at the mayoral forum that was hosted by Neighborhood Council 3 on June 4:

As a citizen involved in local government for the past four years, I have become increasingly concerned about the lack of openness, transparency and accountability within our local government. OTAG is our constitutional right; not an option to be exercised at the whim of our leaders.

According to our city's organizational chart, the citizens are to come first. For the past several years, it's been the exact opposite. Citizens have been increasingly denied their right to speak at public meetings, get answers to their questions and obtain public documents.

It is time to put citizens back in charge of their government.

After reading that statement, I next suggested ways in which I would implement OTAG:

1. Meeting room for the Commission - If elected, I would suggest that citizens be giving access to their elected officials by having an office for the Commission at the Civic Center. Because this is not a full time position, Commissioners would have to determine what time they could be available during the week, if at all.

2. Rescind the five minute speaking ordinance - If elected, I would suggest doing away with the five minute time limit at public comment time at the City Commission meetings. This would not mean that citizens could talk without abandon. The mayor has the right to ask citizens to limit their comments to a reasonable amount of time.

3. Getting answers to questions - When citizens ask city related questions at City Commission meetings, they have a right to an answer. If elected, I would not circle the wagons around staff. They are public servants who work for the citizens, not the other way around. If a question could not be answered right away, because it might require additional research for example, then that question would be on the next meeting's agenda under "old business". Under my leadership, citizens would also not be told they have to put their questions in writing.

4. The right to public documents - The public has a right to ask for and obtain copies of public documents without being given the runaround. Citizens have the right to know and question what their government is doing.

(Please read this, if you wish to comment).

Play the Puzzle

To learn a little bit more about me and my platform, play the puzzle.

Comment Moderation

I very much appreciate and encourage comments on this blog. If you are regular reader of Cataract City, you know that I have allowed comments that have not been complimentary of me to remain posted.

That will not be the case here. Even though I am running for public office, I do not have to tolerate anonymous hits against me on a blog designed to inform you about my candidacy. I would consider allowing the comment if you identified yourself, except I have no way of proving the accuracy of who you are. If you would like to engage in a dialogue critical of my proposals, please email me so that we can establish your identity ahead of time.

For these reasons, I will be using comment moderation, so don't panic if your comment isn't posted right away.

Thanks for your understanding.